While bicycle baskets are cute and useful for the more leisurely ride, and messenger bags are generally great for smaller items, no on-bike accessory actually conforms to the bike to hold your belongings at faster speeds. Korean designers Yeongkeun Jeong and Aareum Jeong have come up with a DIY storage design that does just that, while adding a touch of personal style.

Called Reel, the design seeks to transform the main triangle of your bike frame into storage by wrapping a strong red rope around it, and securing it in place with specially designed silicone buttons.

The buttons attach to the bike's frame by forming teeth to keep the rope in place to prevent any sliding around. All you have to do after that is loop the rope around the frame, making yourself a makeshift basket.

"Unlike common bicycle accessories," writes Yeongkeun Jeong, "the flexibility of the band allows the user to express their style by customizing the shape of Reel."

Jeong has worked for such diverse companies as Hyundai to UNIQLO and everything in between, his products just as wide-ranging, from a hiking cane + tripod to a radio pen to a new way to package portable butter. The guy's done it all.

That said, it does seem a bit dubious to entrust your things to rope and silicone. However, the sturdiness of the basket very much depends on how tight you wrap the rope. Either way, we thought this was a fun and innovative take on the age-old need of carrying your stuff with you on a bike.

Beth Carter is a freelance journalist based in San Francisco. She has worked for Catalyst magazine, the New York Times Syndicate, BBC Travel and Wired. She holds degrees from the University of Oregon and New York University.
Follow her on Twitter.